I followed Thomas, resting my hands on the railing and scanning the scenery below. The grounds had been meticulously kept, and there were so many colors and sounds. The birds were calling to each other, but I couldn’t see them. The muggy air made taking a breath feel like effort, but I loved it.

“It’s beautiful,” I said. “Look through the trees. You can see the ocean. I would live here in a heartbeat if the Bureau had an office here.”

“We could always retire here,” Thomas said.

I looked up at him.

He cringed. “Too honest?”

“Is that what that was?”

He shrugged. “Just thinking out loud.” He bent down to peck my cheek and then returned to the room. “I’m going to hop in the shower. Wedding is in ninety minutes.”

I turned to take in the scenery again, breathing in the salty thick air. I had just agreed to try a relationship with him, and he was talking about the rest of our lives.

I followed Thomas into the room, but he was already in the shower. I knocked on the door and then opened it.

“Don’t say it,” Thomas said, scrubbing his hair.

“Say what?”

“What you’re about to say. You’re overanalyzing.”

I frowned. “That’s part of who I am. That’s why I’m good at my job.”

“And I accept that. What I won’t accept is you using it to push me away. I know what you’re doing.”

Anger, humiliation, and devastation hit me at once. “And I accept that you’re gifted at seeing people for who they really are but not when you point it in my direction and avoid using that talent on yourself.”

He didn’t respond.

“Thomas?”

“We’ve already been over this.”

“What Taylor said this morning, about how to get over someone—”

“No, Liis.”

“You don’t even know what I’m going to ask.”

“Yes, I do. You want to know if I am using you to get over Camille. The answer is no.”

“Then, how did you get over her? You weren’t over her before.”

He was quiet for a moment, letting the water run forward over his scalp and down his face. “You can’t just stop loving someone. I don’t know how to explain it to you if you’ve never been in love.”

“Who said I’ve never been in love?”

“You did—when you said you’ve never had your heart broken.”

“A lot of people on this earth have been in love and haven’t had their hearts broken.”

“But you’re not one of them.”

I winced. “Are you over her?”

He hesitated. “It’s hard to explain.”

“It’s a yes or no question.”

He wiped his face and opened the door. “Baby, for the tenth time…I don’t want to be with her. I want you.”